For The Keeping
by DA-member.7
Summary: After Steve's death, Claudia hasn't been the same. After a blow out fight when a ping shows up, she heads out-again- for some R&R. Pete and Myka are sent to find the artifact, but run into some trouble along the way. Mrs. F, Artie, and Leena all have an intervention about Claudia and how to help her. Claudia learns new things and finds new love while she's gone.(ClaudiaXOC)
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"CLAUDIA! PETE! MYKA!" I heard Artie yell from the office. I groan and break into a sprint towards the front of the warehouse. It takes a bit but I eventually make it back. I walk in and see that Claudia and Pete are already there. Claudia is non-committedly typing something on the computer. Pete's eating cookies. Artie and Leena are arguing about something. Everything is normal.

"Hey. What's up?" I ask Artie, trying to break up whatevers going on.

"We got a ping." Claudia mumbles.

"Where?" I ask as we all go over to Claudia. Her hair was ruffled(and not in the pretty way), there were giant black bags under her eyes from no sleep, her eyes were red and puffy(crying, again), and her voice was congested. She hadn't slept in a couple nights. Nightmares, again. Brilliant. Ever since Steve died, Claudia hadn't been the same. Her eyeliner was darker, she was getting thinner, she hadn't been sleeping often, and she didn't care about tinkering with artifacts. It was a shock to everyone, how different Claudia acted now.

"I don't know! Why do you automatically think that I have all the answers!" she snaps then stands up abruptly. Her chair flies back and knocks over the table with Pete's cookies. He caught the plate, but couldn't save the table.

"Claudia, stop." Leena whispered, pleading. Claudia had been really agressive and moody to everyone. If you ask her more that one question at a time, she thinks we're invading her privacy and trying to get inside her head. Its really affecting Leena.

"Shut up! I'm leaving. I'll be back later." she storms out the door, tears streaming. No one goes after her. She said she'd be back and we trust her. Right?

**I know I already have a lot of incompleted stories, but I really had to post this.**

**Review if you want more. I'll delete it if no one likes it.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1(-Claudia-)**

I hop into the El Camino and dart the car out of the deserted area. I knew the ride to Univille was quick, but that didn't stop the thoughts from running through my head.

As I'm driving, I look into the rear-view mirror and I see ARTIE running out into the dry terrain. That stung. ARTIE WAS RUNNING! The tears sprang into my eyes, but I kept driving. Once I was out of the dirt and onto the highway, I pull over and bawl my eyes out.

"YOU'RE SUCH A SCREW-UP, CLAUDIA! YOU TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, DEMENTED FREAK! YOU KILL EVERYONE AND YOU MESS EVERYTHING UP!" I scream as I bang my fists on the steering wheel. I grip it as my body goes rigid and the sobs come out in screams. I sit like this crying and screaming until someone knocks on my window. I wipe my cheeks and sniff in as I unrole my window.

"Hello?" I ask, squinting in the sunlight. The person shifts on their feet and it blocks the sun. I get a good look. It's the grouchy sheriff.

"Miss Donovan? What are you doin' out here? Are you... Is the great and badass IRS agent _crying_?" he says as he folds his arms.

"You didn't see me. I'm leaving. If any of the IRS workers ask where I went, YOU NEVER SAW ME!" I yell as I turn the car on and zoom off, leaving him the dust and dirt. I drive forward and never look back.

X.X.X.

Univille was fast. It was short and quick. Perfect. As soon as I was out and onto the interstate, I headed towards SDU to use their recourses to find the closest psych center. Yes, I said it! I'm checking myself into a psych center! It wasn't a long drive or check-in.

"Hello. Please fill out these forms and I'll have a doctor see to you when they're available." a kind woman with salt and pepper hair says. I take the forms on the clipboard out of her hand and sit criss-cross in a chair. I filled it out quickly:

_Full Name: Claudia Glenn Donovan Age:20 _ (Why are they asking such useless questions?)

_Have you ever had suicidal thoughts?: YES! Have you attempted it?: Sadly, yes. _

_If yes, how many times?: 3 How?: Drugs all 3 times _

_Have you ever self harmed?: Yes How did you harm yourself?: I cut my wrist and thighs_

I skipped a bunch after that, with the occasional check of yes or no, because they were pointless and irrelevant. Then a cluster of questions caught my eye:

_If you're feeling depressed, why?: Why? WHY? Thats why I'm here. I cant understand it myself_

_What has caused this depression?: My work partner, Steve, was murdered. Some jerkwods who hated us attacked where I worked and killed my partner. He was my best friend and he just left. _

_Why should we admit you to our facility?: Because you don't want your 5 star reputation of a clean suicide streak._

I signed the bottom and stood up. I walked over and dropped the clipboard on the desk. I was heading back to my seat when I ran into someone. We both fell to the floor in a heap.

"Ouch," a girl moans. I sit up and look at who I ran into and nearly have a seizure.

"Oh my God! I took your arm off!" I shriek. Her arm was laying about three feet away from her. Her left arm. She just laughs and scoots back on her right arm and flops her legs around. But they weren't legs. They were stilts. Velocity stilts. And her arm wasn't and arm. It was a prostetic but it had a bunch of wires and screws and bolts and cords and...

"It's fine. Truly. They're all prostetic," she says. I get up and dust the dust off the back of my jeans. She struggles to get up.

"Uh... Need a hand?" she chuckles and waves her prostectic arm at me. "Sorry. Funny choice of words. Need help up?" She nods. She tucks her prostetic under her good arm and lifts up what she can so she doesn't drop her arm. I grab her arm with both hands and lift her up. She smiles and brushes her strawberry blonde away from her face. The first thing I noticed was a long, arrow-shaped scar running horizontally across her face. I felt heat rising up my face and dropped my head. My faded black streak fell into my eye.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed. Everyone stares at it. It's cool. I'm Alicia. And you are?" she sticks her hand in front of me. I shake it.

"I'm-"

"Claudia Donovan?" a nurse says. I stick my hand up. "Oh, Alicia! Again?" the nurse comes over and Alicia shrugs with an innoccently devious look on her face.

"Welll..." she says.

"Nancy, come hook Alicia's arm on again!" she calls and puts her arm on my shoulder. "Claudia? Claudia Donovan?"

" Yeah. Can you help me?" I ask quietly. The nurse smiles.

"Come along now, dear. I will help you." I follow her into the back past some doors. The last thing I hear is a gorgous laugh. I turn and Alicia is laughing as Nancy the Nurse clips some wires and cords on the prostetic to some coming out of a gaping hole on a stub where her left arm should be. With her head thrown back and the smile across her face, she looked breath-taking.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Name?"

"Claudia Glenn Donovan."

"Age, Miss Claudia?"

"Twenty." I was starting to get annoyed.

"It says here that you're depressed and you self harm. Is this true?"

"Yes." I say through gritted teeth.

"Alright. Please follow Claire and Nicole and we'll get you settled in." she pointed to two young girls by the door. I stood up and followed them. They took me down a hall to a room. I knew the routine.

Strip down. Don't feel unconcious. Give all sharp objects. Let them touch your scars. Don't resist. Put your clothes back on. Put your bracelet on. Wait for your room.

That's where I am now. Waiting for someone to send me to my room. My safe haven for the next... Week, according to my bracelet. A week away from the warehouse and artifacts and the grief and Pete and Myka and Artie and Leena and Mrs. Fredrick and...

"Claudia!" a voice yells. My head snaps up and my alert-ness snaps into gear. My eyes fall on Alicia bouncing her way to me.

"Alicia. Hey," I say.

"I know where your room is! Do you have your stuff?" she says in a sing-song voice.

"Uh, yeah. Let's go." I grab my duffel from under my seat and stand. She chuckles and waves her real hand, signifying me to follow her. I blush and jump into a step.

"Don't be so jumpy, Claudia. Just relax and enjoy your stay. Besides, we're going to be ROOM MATES!" She clapped her hands. I stopped in my tracks.

"How did you..." I wiggled my fingers in the direction of her prostetic arm and raised an eyebrow.

"Technology, nowadays. It's marvelous. The wires and cords on the prostetic can connect to my nerves and stuff in my arm. I can move the arm only by thinking. I'm Cyborg One!" she says with a laugh.

"And your stilts?"

"Velocity springs! I love them. I can jump an eight foot high hurdle. New record! And I can do front flips and land in the extact place I was standing. Are you coming or what?" she says. She was so happy, it almost made me sick.

"Uh, yeah! Sorry. I'm still trying to catch my bearings." I say with a small chuckle.

"Nah. Don't worry about it. That's why we're all here, isn't it? To catch our bearings and not fall? Trust me. Everyone that's here has been there before. Even me." she grins.

"So deep." I say as she pulls back on the door handle. She opens it and laughs.

"Come on in. Your bed is the one with the red sheets. I'm the orange. Welcome home. Well, home for the time being." I walk in and I'm instantly hit by a rush of warmth and a calming feeling.

"What the..."

"I know. I did some research. Warm colors calm the mind and the nerves. Considering that fact I don't have many nerves left, what I do have left get pretty torn up some times."

"Your room. Its-"

"Ours. Its our room, Claudia. Get used to calling it that, hon, 'cause thats what it is." I drop my bag on my bed and turn to look at Alicia. Her smile is warmer than the room. I dont know what compells me to do it, but I walk over and throw my arms around Alicia's neck.

"Thank you, Alicia. Gah, this past month has been so rough and I thought all of the sun and happiness left and now I'm here and I met you and the suns back. Thank you so much." I started sobbing into her shoulder. She lifts up her arms and rubs my back in circles like how Steve did. Oh Steve... Just thinking of him made me sob harder.

"Oh, Claudia. What's broken you so much?" she pulled me away and led me to her bed. We sat down and hugged each other again.

I started crying and sobbing and that led to bawling and that almost led to screaming. I stopped at mid-meltdown. It stopped because Alicia laid down and laid my head on her chest. She stroked my hair and rubbed my back. It was so soothing. When my crying began to go into meltdown-mode, she'd hold me tight to her chest. We did this for what felt like forever until my eyes dried and I was just shaking and it was 10 o'clock.

"I'm tired." I say quietly.

"Of course. You wanna stay here or go to your bed?"

"Can I stay here? I have a feeling my dreams with be rough."

"Of course. Get into what you want to wear to bed. I have to take my prostetics off." we both got out of bed. I unzipped my duffel and pulled out a T-shirt and some sport shorts. When I turned around, Alicia was sitting on the edge of the bed, tearing some velcro from the tops of her stilts. She looked like she was struggling.

"Need some help with those?"

"Yes, please. They normally aren't that hard to get off but my arms been kinda glitchy recently." I walk over and kneel down in front of her stilts. I try to delicately undo the velcro.

"I remember the last time I was in this postition." Alicia says.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I was being discharged from the hospital almost three years ago. I was given these stilts. The moment I stood up, I fell down and almost went unconcious. The look my mother had was ridiculous. So full of hate. And my siblings... Goodness. Asher and Calix couldnt stop laughing. Devon was probably too high to pay attention. And Eliza was just plain scared."

"What about your father?"

"He... wasn't there." she looked down.

"Where was he?"

"Being cremated."

"Oh. I'm really sorry."

"It's alright." I was done taking the stilts off. I slid them under her bed.

"Ready for bed?" I ask.

"Yep." She undid the arm by herself pretty easily and she slid under her covers.

"I can take a look at your arm tomorrow. I'm pretty good with technology and stuff." I say as I get in next to her.

"Okay. Good night, Claudia."

"Good night, Alicia."

X.X.X.**(-Alicia-)**

I wake up to the feeling of someone poking me in the side of the head. My eyes twitch open and I look at the clock. It's 3 a.m.

"Who the hell just woke me up so freaking early? I swear..." I rub my eyes and squirm to get up. Claudia was curled up next to me.

"Miss Graceman." I jump and see a lady with a beehive and a pink dress suit.

"Where'd you come from?" I ask.

"Through a door." she says with a sassy attitude.

"What door? Our door? You can't say _a _door. It just implies-"

"Nobody has ever caught that before. Congratulations."

"Thanks?" I say in a more questioning tone.

"My name is Mrs. Fredrick. Claudia works for me."

"What do she work as?"

"That's for her to tell you if she would like. Not me. I have a message for you though: Stay away from Miss Donovan. Being involved with her is dangerous."

"Stay away from her? Ma'am, I dont think I could if I tried. She's so broken and I want to help her and even though I just met her, I practically love her!" I slap my hand over my mouth.

"I understand. But, please, Miss Graceman, take precaution. And, before I leave, one more thing."

"Yes, ma'am?"

"When do you get released?"

"I don't know. I'm more of a resident than in-patient. I've been here for almost two years. My mom couldn't fund for a handicapped child, stoner kid, model, twins who practically don't go to school, and a high-lined fashion freak. That's a tough payment, and I'm pretty sure you don't really care." I say with a chuckle.

"Actually, Miss Graceman, I do care. Thank you for your time." and almost immediatly, I curled back up into my sleep ball and let Claudia become the big spoon. She did it perfectly.


End file.
